Virginia’s sports betting market continued to see growth in March 2021.
According to the latest report from the Virginia Lottery, bettors in the state of Virginia wagered $304.1m on sports in March.
March’s handle was up 13.7% on the $265m wagered in February and was also up on the $58m wagered in January, the month legal betting went live in the state.
According to the Virginia Lottery’s announcement, March Madness betting helped boost the state’s handle in March. The Lottery said that $83.6m was wagered on March Madness in March.
Revenue increases as promo spend drops
The six sportsbooks that were live in March reported adjusted gross revenue of $13.8m. This was up from the $12.2m generated in February 2021.
Sportsbooks in the state paid $1.2m in tax revenue to the state in March, bringing the total tax revenue generated from sports betting since launch to $1.5m.
In Virginia, sportsbooks can deduct their promotional spending from their taxable revenue from sports betting.
During March, sportsbooks reported spending $10.3m on bonuses and promotions, which was down from $13.2m in February.
Wynnbet goes live
In March, WynnBet became the sixth sportsbook operator to enter the Virginia sports betting market.
On 21 April, the Virginia Lottery published a presentation providing a closer look at the state of the market. According to that presentation, FanDuel held 53% of the market between 21 January to the end of March.
DraftKings followed with 24% of the market, BetMGM held 14% and William Hill held 8%. Meanwhile, BetRivers held onto 1% of the market and WynnBet had roughly 0% of the market.
More operators are set to go live in the state of Virginia in the coming months. These could include Barstool Sportsbook, Golden Nugget, and Bally Bets which all received approval in March but have yet to launch.
Sports betting in Virginia
The state of Virginia legalised sports betting in April 2020 after the state legislature passed a sports betting bill that would allow sportsbook apps to launch by the end of 2020.
Virginia’s sports betting market launched on 21 January 2021 with the launch of the FanDuel sportsbook via a partnership with the Washington Football Team.
DraftKings, which is partnered with Crown Virginia Gaming, launched alongside BetMGM later in January.
In March, Virginia’s governor signed a new bill into law which made several changes to the state’s betting market. This included offering five more sports betting licences.
